Cade Cunningham collected 32 points and 10 assists to help the visiting Detroit Pistons extend their winning streak to four games by beating the Boston Celtics 112-105 on Monday night.
Cunningham was 11 of 21 from the floor, which included 6 of 10 from 3-point territory. Caris LeVert and Tobias Harris each added 13 points for the Pistons.
Jaylen Brown had 34 points, eight rebounds and seven assists for Boston, but missed seven of his 14 free-throw attempts. Derrick White tossed in 31 for the Celtics, who have lost two in a row. White had 14 points in the final quarter.
Boston was within three points, 108-105, after White made a 3-pointer with 1:32 to play, but Cunningham stretched the lead to five points when he hit a mid-range shot on the ensuing possession.
The Celtics were 10 of 39 from 3-point range.
A 7-0 run handed the Pistons a 19-14 lead, but the Celtics scored the next 14 points to take a 28-19 lead following a Hugo Gonzalez 3-pointer with 2:09 remaining in the opening quarter. Boston made 12 of its 20 shots from the floor in the first quarter and had a 33-25 lead after 12 minutes.
Boston had the first double-digit lead of the game after Jordan Walsh’s 3-point play put the Celtics up 39-27 just 53 seconds into the second quarter, but Detroit responded with a 16-2 run to go in front, 43-41. Boston was up 57-53 at halftime.
The Pistons outscored the Celtics 32-24 in the third to carry an 85-81 advantage into the final quarter.
Cunningham left the game after he picked up his fifth foul with Detroit leading 96-93 and 7:12 left on the clock, but the Pistons extended the lead to 103-93 — their largest lead of the game — after a Javonte Green dunk with 5:53 remaining. Cunningham returned to the game with 4:21 to play. Thereafter, the Celtics never had the ball with a chance to tie or take the lead.
Detroit has won two of the three meetings between the teams this season.
–Field Level Media
